Worried about your weight? We’re all different shapes and sizes, which is fine, but if you feel you’ve gone above what suits you, then maybe it’s time to put that right. Excess weight can also affect your health, so plan a better lifestyle – most solutions will lead to a healthier body, anyway.
Exercise is an essential part of this.
Joining a gym implies serious intent, as long as you use it! The setting and the equipment will give you the discipline to stick at it. Paying a subscription will concentrate your mind as well as your body, although some fitness chains are reasonably-priced or allow monthly payments.
Alternatively, buy your own equipment. Look for second-hand items online, on local forums, or in charity shops. Join a running club, or set out on your own. Running, jogging, walking and cycling will all bring good results.
The advice is always to reach a point where you break into a sweat, but if health or another reason prevents this, any movement will help. If you have a car, leave it at home, and walk into town, or at least take public transport – help the environment at the same time. Use a staircase rather than escalators or lifts, and run up the stairs at home.
In fact, you don’t need to leave home to burn off calories.
Gardening is hard physical work. If you’ve got an allotment, that’s even better – you can grow the vegetables that will help you stay slim. And housework is guaranteed to get you hot and bothered, one way or another!
Exercise and a planned diet go hand in hand.
You need to work out to burn off calories, especially effective if you’ve reduced your intake. Check the number of calories on your plate, and see if you can cut down on certain foods. Better still, remove some altogether, but don’t suffer too much, or you’ll give up.
If you can’t keep to it on your own, join a slimming club.
Sometimes, we need support and encouragement, and the chance to swap stories. You’ll also get recipes and nutritional advice. Before you know it, it will be a lifelong habit, and you will realise that you feel so much better.
A good diet is an important part of weight loss.
Increase the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in your diet, and you will notice the difference in your everyday well-being. Leave out sugary drinks and biscuits. Cut down on processed foods and ready meals, which may contain additives that cause you to gain weight – definitely not what you want!
High-fibre foods like brown rice, pulses, and oats will help you to feel full, so that you consume less. Opt for natural yoghurt with a little honey, exchange fatty meat for lean fish, and produce your own clear soups. Adopt a Mediterranean diet, one of the healthiest in the world. Search for advice online, and make use of the many useful apps available – you’ll wonder why you didn’t start before!
